(written from a Production point of view)
David Ajala (born 21 May 1986; age 38) is an English actor who played Cleveland Booker in the third through fifth seasons of Star Trek: Discovery.
Besides his Star Trek role, Ajala is best known for having played the recurring role of Manchester Black in the fourth season of Supergirl in 2018-19. In 2016-18, Ajala starred as Burton in the supernatural drama series Falling Water (with Melanie Nicholls-King, Raven Dauda, Sam Asante, Ito Aghayere, Krista Jang, Leslie Silva, Simon Northwood, Adam Winlove-Smith, Jennifer Murray, and Helene Robbie) and in 2018, he co-starred as Captain Roy Eris in the short-lived Netflix science fiction series Nightflyers (also starring Maya Eshet).
He also appeared in the Doctor Who episode "The Beast Below", making him one of the three Star Trek series regulars (alongside Orla Brady and Christina Chong) who also appeared in the long-running British science fiction series.
On stage, Ajala appeared with Patrick Stewart and David Tennant in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2008 production of Hamlet, adapted for television in 2009. [1] In 2016, he played American football star Jim Brown in the London debut of Kemp Powers' play One Night in Miami.
His film credits include the dramas Kidulthood (2006), Adulthood (2008), and Brotherhood (2016), starring Noel Clarke, who also wrote all three films and directed the latter two. He played supporting roles in The Dark Knight (2008, with Keith Szarabajka and Danny Goldring), Fast & Furious 6 (2013, with Dwayne Johnson and Joe Taslim, directed by Justin Lin), and Jupiter Ascending (2015).
He also appeared in guest roles in the British series The Bill, Black Mirror (with Christina Chong), and Law & Order: UK.
| Star Trek: Discovery regular cast |
|---|
| David Ajala • Rachael Ancheril • Wilson Cruz • Blu del Barrio • Jason Isaacs • Doug Jones • Shazad Latif • Sonequa Martin-Green • Anson Mount • Anthony Rapp • Callum Keith Rennie • Mary Wiseman |
Star Trek appearances[]
Appearances as Cleveland Booker[]
- DIS:
- "That Hope Is You, Part 1" (Season 3)
- "People of Earth"
- "Scavengers"
- "Unification III"
- "The Sanctuary"
- "Terra Firma, Part 1"
- "Terra Firma, Part 2"
- "Su'Kal"
- "There Is A Tide..."
- "That Hope Is You, Part 2"
- "Kobayashi Maru" (Season 4)
- "Anomaly (DIS)"
- "Choose to Live"
- "All Is Possible"
- "The Examples"
- "Stormy Weather"
- "...But to Connect"
- "All In"
- "Rubicon"
- "The Galactic Barrier"
- "Rosetta"
- "Species Ten-C"
- "Coming Home"
- "Red Directive" (Season 5)
- "Under the Twin Moons"
- "Jinaal"
- "Face the Strange"
- "Mirrors"
- "Whistlespeak"
- "Erigah"
- "Labyrinths"
- "Lagrange Point"
- "Life, Itself"
